I Like You, I Think
by idkreally
Summary: In a journey to find herself (quite literally), 15-year-old Arishima Akane ends up in Otonokizaka Academy, where she meets adorkable people, becomes a school idol group's manager and comes across wacky experiences, and maybe romance? A lot of romance. (Yuri/GxG, don't like, don't read. Harem, I guess?) [Set in a timeline where Honoka, Umi and Kotori are first years]
1. Chapter 1 - Otonokizaka Academy

"All of you are now part of Otonokizaka Academy. Congratulations on your acceptance!"

Cheers roared throughout the auditorium as the school director ended her speech and applauded. Students who were present at the school opening had smiles present on their faces.

"And now," said the school director as the cheering died down. "A word from the student council president."

It was quiet as the blonde made her way to the pedestal, her expression serious. The new students appeared to have been entranced by her grace and beauty. Murmurs could be heard from the students. Whether they were talking about good or bad things, I'll never know.

The microphone's static high pitched noise blasted. "Ah, sorry, sorry about that." The president finally spoke. She seemed quite nervous. Well, it's understandable. She cleared her throat before she spoke again, "Good morning, everyone. I am this school's student council president, Ayase Eli."

Ayase Eli, huh?

"Hey, hey, doesn't she seem pretty strict?" I felt someone nudge my shoulder. I thought nothing of it and continued listening to the boring speech. "Don't ignore me! I'm talking to you, you know?" This time, it was a silent yet coming from the same person who nudged my shoulder, I assume.

I turned my head to look at her, "What do you want?" I didn't mean to seem cold. I'm just horrible at talking to people, sorry, okay?

She slightly flinched. Guess she finds me intimidating now. "T-The president seems like a strict person, d-doesn't she?" Now, she's talking in a more formal fashion, it almost seem funny since it certainly didn't fit the way she looked. She had ginger hair that was tied into a side ponytail and energetic dark blue eyes which almost always appeared to have a mischievous glint in them.

"Sorry about that," I muttered to her. "I didn't mean to come off as cold, you can talk to me like how you usually talk to other people." My goal was to seem warm and welcoming, but my resting neutral face wasn't cooperating at all.

"A-Ah…" she looked confused at first, but it was quickly replaced by a genuinely happy one. "Anyway, my name's Kousaka Honoka, nice to meet you!" she brought out her hand for me to shake.

"Likewise. My name's Arishima Akane." I took her hand and shook it. More cheers suddenly erupted from the students around us. "Looks like the speech is done."

She nodded her head as she smiled brightly. "Yeah! Hope we get in the same class!"

Well, there are only 2 classes for the incoming first years, so… "Yep."

The chances shouldn't be that slim.

As I walked the hallways towards my designated classroom, I could feel almost everyone staring at me. Some were even talking in whispers to their friends, glancing at me from time to time. I shrugged as I looked straight forward.

Is it because of my blonde hair? Well, it's not my fault I have blonde hair. They're the ones who have to deal with it.

Clutching my bag and holding it close to my chest, I stood in front of my classroom door. I took deep breaths as I closed my eyes.

That's right… inhale, exhale… don't want to get a panic attack now… inhale, ex-

"Akane-chan!" an energetic voice piped up from behind me. I quickly turned around to see who it was. As expected, it was the girl I met earlier. Honoka, was it? Although, she was accompanied by two girls.

"Hey," I greeted her, my expression still as stoic as ever. "So we really are classmates, huh?" I told her as a hint of happiness escaped my lips. She seemed surprised at first, but she quickly responded with yet another bright smile on her face. The two girls beside her smiled as well.

"Uh, yeah! Well, if the classroom you're standing in front of is your classroom, then, yes! Oh, and we're classmates with my two friends, too!"

I look at the both of them as they smiled at me.

"My name is Sonoda Umi, pleased to make your acquaintance." Said the blue haired girl. At first glance, she looked like some kind of Yamato Nadeshiko, with the long dark hair matched with her amber eyes.

The second one spoke up, "And my name's Minami Kotori! It's nice to meet you." She sounded chirpy… like a bird?

"I'm Arishima Akane, it's nice to meet you both."

Honoka slung an arm over my shoulder, "You're getting along fine with them, good, good! Now, let's get inside our classroom!"

She opened the door and stepped inside, yelling, "Gooooood morning, everyone!" Everyone present in the classroom turned their heads to look at us, some in surprise, others in amusement.

Umi then stood in front of Honoka while Kotori and I just stared at everything that's unfolding right before us. "Sorry about that, everyone, Honoka here is just excited about high school." The students giggled then returned to what they were previously doing.

Honoka frowned and pouted, whining to Umi about how the blue haired girl ruined her so called "grand entrance".

"They're…. a handful, aren't they?"

Kotori chuckled, "I don't really mind."

The teacher came in the classroom a few minutes later and assigned us to our seats. Unfortunately, I was assigned to it on the front row so the teacher could keep an eye on me. Honoka and the others were at the back rows, near the window.

Currently, our homeroom teacher is discussing things about Science, and I'm taking notes.

With a pen on my right hand, and my notebook in front of me on my desk, I listened to her.

"We can then conclude that-"

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," our teacher said. The door slid open, revealing the president and vice president of the student council.

"May we have a moment to talk to the freshmen?" the blonde inquired, tucking strands of her hair behind her right ear. I stared at the both of then, everyone was. Almost immediately after she spoke, my classmates murmured to each other again. I didn't let that affect me as I continued to stare at the two.

This was the first time I saw the vice president. She was tall, but not as tall as the president. Her purple hair was tied into two lower ponytails. She must have noticed me staring since she gave me a smile and mouthed me a 'hello'. Not knowing how to respond, I looked away.

The both of them walked in front of us, as the president held up a sheet of paper. "This here," she said as she showed it to us for all to see. "Is a list of all the clubs currently in the school. Each student is required to join one. You may make your own club, too. Just make sure you have at least five members when you start out."

As the president continued to ramble on about clubs, I propped my elbow on my desk and rested my chin on the palm of my hand. I looked at the window and sulked.

"Is that clear?" Looks like she's done. The class responded gleefully. "Is that clear?" she repeated, but it sounded like she was directing it to someone. Letting my curiosity get the best of me, I turn my head, just to be greeted by Ayase Eli, herself, in front of me.

"Yes," I answer her, my expression blank.

She took a good look at me one more time before she head over to the vice president. "Oh, and, if you're not sure which club to join, you can always go to the student council office. We'll help you out." Said the purple haired 2nd year. The president looked confused by her statement, but nodded anyway.

They thanked our homeroom teacher then pinned the sheet of paper to our classroom's bulletin board before going outside.

Clubs, huh?

"Hey, hey, Akane-chan, which club are you going to join?" Honoka was, once again, nudging my shoulder. It's currently lunch time and we decided to eat outside under the large tree in the middle of the courtyard.

Students passed by with joyful smiles as the cool wind blew calmly, making the leaves sway. I look down at my lap, where I placed my lunched box. Picking up a piece of meat with my chopsticks, I shrugged, "I'm not sure. I'm actually thinking of paying a visit to the student council office." Umi, and Kotori, who sat next to Honoka, nodded.

"I'm thinking of joining the Sewing Club." Kotori said as she took a bite of her lunch. It fit her well.

I nod, eating the piece of meat, "What about you, Umi?"

Before Umi could respond to my question, Honoka filled in for her, "Actually, Umi comes from a family of braaaave warriors and scary samurai so-"

"I'm thinking of joining the Archery Club." Umi cut her sentence short as she smiled warmly at me, leaving Honoka feeling ignored and whine some more at her.

"Anyway," Honoka said as she recovered from feeling rejected. "I'm joining the Cooking Club! My family runs a sweets shop, you see. You should stop by some time, Akane-chan!" Honoka was grinning like an idiot as she replied.

"Sure," I plainly muttered as the three of them smiled warmly at me.

This isn't that bad.


	2. Chapter 2 - Clubs

**A/N: Alright, just a quick author's note here because I completely forgot to do this on the first chapter. I just wanted to say thank you for giving this story a chance! Favorites, follows and especially reviews and criticism are welcomed!**

The bell rang, signalling the end of our first day here. Honoka and the others decided to apply to their clubs while I decided to go to the office.

Well, that's what I was planning to do anyway. The tension in of gets to you once you really are in front of the door. I felt my legs shaking as I slowly reached out to the doorknob.

Why was I scared, anyway? Am I scared of the vice president? The president? The room itself?

"Oh, hello there." A high pitched voice greeted me from behind. I freeze and turn around to see who it was.

"V-Vice president." Why the hell am I stuttering?

Her turquoise eyes lit up in curiosity as she looked at me, an eyebrow raised. I kept my straight face on as she did so. A smile graced her gentle features. "Were you going to ask for the student council's assistance?"

The way she spoke sounded so… motherly. As if you could tell her whatever you wanted to tell her. I nodded, "For the clubs, specifically."

Mischief replaced curiosity as her eyes li up once more. Giggling, she walked towards me and held the doorknob. "Come on in." I held my breath as she twisted the doorknob and slowly opened the door.

The interior looked sophisticated. There were metalling long desks that were lined up in a shape of a semi-rectangle in the center, leaving space in the middle. Surrounding the desks were several cabinets which were filled with neatly arranged documents, and in the far back of the room, a rather dusty white board was placed.

In the middle of the room sat the blonde student president, who was working diligently on her responsibilities. Hearing the sound of the sliding door, she placed her pen on the desk and looked at us. No, it seemed like she was looking at me.

"Do you have any business here?"

I bit my lip, hesitant to respond. Damn, she really is beautiful. Shaking those thoughts out of my head, I opened my mouth, but before I could say a word, the vice president beside me beat me to it.

"Clubs!" she happily exclaimed. "She wants to talk about clubs!" Her turquoise eyes had that mischievous glint again.

I raised my eyebrow. Why is she getting all worked up about clubs? It doesn't matter, I guess… "Yeah… I sort of don't know which one to join, and I don't want to form one…"

"Why can't you?" Icy. Cold. Unapproachable. Beautiful. What else can I use to describe the student council president?

"I… I just can't." I balled my hands into fists, fighting an incoming heart attack. I've never been great with interacting with people, I think.

He stare softened as she called the two of us over. Unsure of what to do, I glanced at Nozomi. She smiled at me warmly, gesturing for me to go to the student council president. Seriously, if Eli was as welcoming as Nozomi, the student council would be getting more visits every day.

I slowly walked towards the president. She gestured for me to take a seat next to her. As I sat down, I looked around the room, noticing the vast emptiness of it. "You're wondering about the room, aren't you?" Nozomi, who took a seat next to me, asked. I nodded. "You see, Otonokizaka is currently undergoing some kind of…" she paused for a second. "…downfall, yes. Less students are applying here every year, and if the students in the next two school years don't reach the quota, the school is shutting down."

I didn't know how to react. But, well, my face showed no reaction. "That doesn't really answer anything about the room, though." I muttered.

"The other members lost their motivation to work once they heard the news, since then, it's only been Elicchi and I."

"N-Nozomi…!" Eli silently yelled for her to stop, clutching her pen tightly, almost crumpling the paper she was writing on.

The awkward tension was afloat. The president looked like she was about to cry, while the vice president could only sigh and look sympathetically on the floor. And there was me, the poker faced freshman who was literally in between them. I knew it was up to me to somehow dispel this air, I could figure out that much, at least.

"Don't worry," I said as I grabbed a pen from one of their holders. "Something like that won't scare me, I'm joining the student council."

The both of them looked at me, surprised. "So, where are those flyer things where I have you guys stamp your names?" They still looked baffled by my sudden request of union. "Don't you guys need new members? I thought that was the problem here? I'm not good with situations like these, I think, sorry."

"Thank you…" Eli mumbled and I hummed in response. By this time, Nozomi snapped back to her senses and handed me a flyer.

"Write your name, please." The purple haired student told me. I gladly obliged.

As Nozomi smiled warmly at me, Eli stamped her name. "Well, now that that's over with, welcome to the student council, Arishima Akane."

And it was at that moment when I saw Ayase Eli, the icy, cold, unapproachable, beautiful student council president, smile for the first time.


	3. Chapter 3 - 1 Week

**A/N: I obviously don't own Love Live, because if I did, then all the gay ships would have been canon by a long time ago lmao. Favorites, follows and especially reviews and criticism (no matter how harsh) are much appreciated! Anyway, let's get on with this chapter already.**

* * *

1 week. It's been 1 week since our welcoming ceremony, that also means it's been 1 week since I joined the student council. Nothing's changed much; Honoka was still as energetic as ever, Umi was still Honoka's guidance counsellor, Kotori was still the mother figure for the both of them, Nozomi was still the mysterious upperclassman that she is, and Eli was still her usual stubborn self.

And me? Oh, I guess I'm still me.

"Arishima-san…"

…I think.

"Arishima-san." The stern voice repeated. I looked up from my paperwork to face the blonde beside me, who was also working on something on her laptop.

Cocking my head, I raised an eyebrow and asked, "Can I help you with anything, Ayase-senpai?"

She stared at me for a while before replying. "It's nothing. You've been spacing out a lot lately, that's all."

"Ah, sorry, Ayase-senpai." I went back to sorting out random documents.

"Good morning, my two favourite blondies!" An energetic voice rang out from the door. Eli and I looked up to see who it was.

"Nozomi." Eli greeted her, and I followed.

As Nozomi took a seat next to me, she ruffled my hair, "Ayyye, so how are my two favourite blondies doing?" In a span of a week, Nozomi and I have grown quite close. Whenever I come here to work for the student council, she's the one I frequently converse with, since Eli always looks like she's busy with something.

"Working." Eli answered her as she scrunched her eyebrows in frustration.

"Oh, oh,oh? Looks like you're working on something difficult, Elicchi!"

A sigh escaped Eli's lips. "I can't seem to get this thing working…" she rotated her laptop, showing us its screen. Two programs were opened: a web browser and a notepad.

"Homework?" I asked her, to which she nodded.

"Coding, to be specific. It's confusing me."

Nozomi sighed as well. "I'm having a difficult time with that thing too!"

I took my time and scanned over her notepad. There were indeed a lot of mistakes. "Um," I started as I cleared my throat. "I can assist you."

Eli looked at me with a surprised expression. Why does everyone look at me like that? "You know this stuff?"

"HTML and CSS, right? It's the basics of programming. I spend a lot of time with computers, I think. So I kind of taught myself how to use them… I think." She pushed her laptop to me and I began correcting what needed to be corrected. "You see, every end tag needs to have a slash or else the computer will mistake it as a new tag and will render the first tag as void…" As I continued to blabber and type, the two people beside me stared at the screen in awe. "…and that's done."

I saved the notepad and opened it up in a web browser. Eli was making a webpage about… "Chocolate?" I mumbled as the web browser displayed various pictures of chocolate.

Eli's face flushed red as she took the laptop away from me. "D-Don't judge me for that!"

Nozomi giggled as I replied. "I'm not, although I like vanilla more than chocolate."

"Elicchi's favourite food is chocolate, you see." Said Nozomi as she grabbed my hand. "But, I'm amazed, Arishima-chan! How can your hands type that fast?"

"Not as fast as your card shuffling skills, though."

She smirked and magically got her cards from… thin air? She then proceeded to shuffle them at an inhuman speed and grab one card between her pointer and middle finger. She took a quick look at it and smiled at me.

"What did the card say?" I asked her.

"It's nothing."

"That just makes me more curious about it, you know?"

She giggled as she returned the card to her deck. "Curiosity killed the cat."

I shrugged. "But satisfaction brought it back."

* * *

"Uwaah! That's amazing, Akane-chan! 1 week of working in the student council! I could never imagine myself doing that kind of work!"

I was once again in between Umi, Honoka and Kotori, eating lunch. "That's because you always laze around, Honoka."

"Ehhh? But, Umi-chan! You don't have to be that mean, right, Kotori?"

"Who knows…"

As the three of them dealt with their tropes, I continued eating my lunch. During the 1 week that passed by, the four of us have become quite close, too, I think. Maybe I've made friends, or maybe they feel like they have to interact with me, I don't know.

"How are your clubs?" I asked.

"Ohhhh!" Honoka cheered. "The Cooking Club is cool! They've got all sorts of equipment and I managed to learn a few new recipes!"

"The Archery Club's activities calm me down spiritually and I feel it is something I will enjoy immensely."

"The Sewing Club is fun! We were cross stitching and I made cross stitches of us!" Kotori rummaged through her bag and brought out four cross stitches, each cross stitch had one of our faces in chibi form as designs.

"Ahhh!" Honoka cheered again. "That's cute! Ah, also! Akane-chan is smiling here!" she grabbed one of the cross stitches, specifically the one that had my chibi smiling face stitched on, and showed it to me. "You look cute when you smile, Akane-chan!"

"…I see."

Honoka facepalmed. "I was trying to make you smile, Akane-chan! I really want to see you smile for once!"

"Well, I guess you have to try harder?"

She immediately looked defeated as Umi and Kotori laughed at the both of us.

"Akane-chan, you meanie!" Honoka pulled me into a hug as she fake cried. What am I supposed to do now? This is the first time I've been in this kind of situation, I think.

I pat her head. She suddenly stopped moving. "Hey, you okay?" I asked her. She nodded quickly, her arms still around me. "Sorry, I just thought your hair looked really soft."

She stiffened some more, but let go of me shortly. "S-Sorry about that." She mumbled, her cheeks tinted a light pink.

I shook my head. "It's okay."

"Arishima-chan!" I looked up to see Nozomi walking towards us.

"Tojo-senpai." I greeted her.

"Isn't that the vice president?" Honoka whispered to me, to which I nodded and hummed.

"What are you doing here, Toko-senpai?"

"Ah, I just wanted to check on my favourite underclassman! Which is you!"

"Uh-huh…"

"Ehhh? Aren't you happy, Arishima-chan?"

"I am."

"It would be great if you actually showed it, though…"

I just shrugged as a response to Nozomi's remark. "Is that really all? No student council work?"

Nozomi giggled. "Elicchi wants to see you after school."

"Is that all?" she nodded. "I understand, I'll see her later."

With a mischievous smirk and giggle, she began walking away.

"Ah… student council stuff sounds hard…" I heard the three of them murmur next to me.

* * *

The hallways were almost empty, save for the few students who decided to linger around for a bit. I guess it's to be expected since classes are over.

"Bye bye, Akane-chan!"

"See you tomorrow!"

"Have a nice day, Akane-san."

As I stood out the doorway, facing the hallway, my three classmates bid me goodbye. "See ya." I replied.

I slid the door close and started walking to the, now, very familiar student council office.

What could Eli want from me, I wonder. She's never called me for anything specific, we just hand out whenever there's work to do. As I stood just outside the doorway, I heard a yell of disbelief.

"Amnesia!?" it said. "I see… that actually explains a lot… thank you for your time."

Ah, she found out. As she ran a hand through her silky blonde hair, she glanced at the doorway and spotted me.

"Nozomi said you wanted to talk to me?"

She raised an eyebrow. "No, I don't remember telling Nozomi to fetch you."

I hummed. "I see." I turned around on my heel, making me face the empty hallway. "I'll excuse myself now." As I took a step towards the outside, I felt something warm grab my hand. Feeling startled by the sudden contact, I turned my head to look behind me.

Eli held my hand, her face lowered. "Wait…!" she silently yelled. "Wait…"

"…hm?" her entire body froze as I hummed. What's wrong with her? "Hey, are you alright?" She nodded slowly and mumbled a small yeah as a response. I stared blankly at her for a while, taking in the situation we were in. Well, looks like Nozomi was right, this blonde really is stubborn in actuality. "Looks like you've got something to tell me."

Eli slowly raised her head to look at me and nodded. She was an inch or two taller than me, so I needed to raise my head while talking. "Is it true…?"

"What is?"

"That you… have… amnesia?" she took deep breaths in between words. I frowned, unsure of what to say. I mean, if the student council president had no idea of my current state, then it's something no one in the student body knows about. Is it really alright for me to openly disclose such information?

"…yes." Oh, well, not like it's going to affect her greatly.

"That's… all you're going to say?"

"What else is there to say?" A look of hurt spread across her face in response. Her grip on my hand loosened somewhat then she let go. "I'll excuse myself now."

"…sure. We have student council duties tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, see you."

I swear I heard a crack in her voice as she bid me goodbye.


	4. Chapter 4 - Afterschool Walks

**A/N: Okay, after editing this, I realized that this chapter is more of a filler chapter than an actual chapter lmao. But, hey, Umi is my favorite Love Live girl so :^)**

* * *

Walking home and taking the train alone is something I've grown accustomed to. Large crowds and large amounts of people always put me in the edge of a panic attack, but I've learned to control my breathing and always carry around bottles of water. I could always use my prescribed medicines, but they taste bitter, and I dislike bitter things.

Gripping the train handles somehow reminded of how Eli grabbed my hand. Although it isn't as soft as I preferred, the warmth and the intensity of the grip was still there. That made me feel calm for some reason. Come to think of it, the warmth from this train strap must be left over warmth from the last person that held this, right? It could have been a greasy dirty man for all I know. Just the thought makes me shudder.

"Next stop, Kanda Shrine." Said the train operator. That's my stop, better not doze off now.

* * *

I always make sure to pay a visit to Kanda Shrine on the way home. It's also part of the reason why Nozomi and I are pretty close. The day I discovered she worked here was the day I discovered her "Washi Washi tendencies".

As I threw some spare change I had to the shrine, I clapped my hands twice and began praying - praying for anything, really. I'm not the picky type, I accept whatever I can get.

"Akane-san?"

I turned around to see a blue haired maiden. "Yo, Umi. You visit the Kanda Shrine too?"

"Y-yes, I frequently visit here, I live near here, you see." She replied as she walked and stood beside me, throwing some spare change to the shrine, clapping her hands twice and closing her eyes, praying. After a few minutes of silence, she opened her eyes and faced me. "Are you free? Would you like to hang out for a bit? Since we coincidentally bumped into each other here and all."

I nodded, "Sure, I didn't have anything planned anyway."

"Great! I know of an amazing café near by."

"Lead the way."

* * *

"And then! Honoka went off and ate all the free samples!"

Umi and I went to the café she mentioned. It was a nice café, the interior design was in a Japanese Style aesthetic. It was certainly something that fit the archer.

"Really? That sounds like something she'd definitely do regardless of your warnings."

Umi, who was sitting in front of me, drooped her shoulders, "That is true, but, she needs to learn some manners!"

The small round table in between us was made of wood, well furnished wood, I'll give them that. There was enough space to put our bags and the drinks and food we ordered. Umi settled for water and takoyaki. As expected from someone as disciplined as her. While I ordered a glass of iced tea and a slice of strawberry cake. Heh, what a load of calories I've ordered.

"I think she's fine just the way she is, though." I replied as I took a sip of my drink.

"Why do you keep on taking her side?!" I would have been scared, but she was oddly swaying from side to side and her speech was slurred. Don't tell me...

"Umi, have you been drinking alcohol? For heaven's sake, we're only 15!"

"Haa? No, of course not!" Although, her flushed face and strange body language was more than enough to tell me otherwise.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, I wonder what caused this though... surely, a glass of water couldn't have caused this... then... it has to be the takoyaki... but who does that?" I raised my arm and called for a waitress' attention, asking for a menu. She nodded and quickly gave me one. "Thank you," I mumbled as she stepped away.

Now, to find out... I opened the menu and looked over its snacks section. 'Takoyaki - served fresh with a hint of Sake!' I sighed inwardly. This must be it. This also means that Umi is weak against alcohol. _Really_ weak. Well, you learn something new everyday. I placed the menu on our table and stood up, "Come on, Umi. Let's go home."

She pouted, "Ehhh? I don't wanna! I wanna spend more time with youuuu!" What kind of drunk is she, exactly? I sighed once more as I grabbed her hand and pulled her up.

"Come on."

She remained silent as the both of us got our school bags and walked away.

"Thank you for coming!" I heard the waitresses say.

* * *

"Okay, where's your house?" I asked the drunk blue haired maiden.

"Not telling!" The said drunk blue haired maiden replied, pouting and shaking her head. "When I get home, then you won't be hanging out with me anymore!"

"We always hang out at school!"

"But you give Honoka and Kotori way more attention!" Drunk people really do yap nonsense.

"Fine! I promise to visit you at home when I get the chance to! Just tell me where your house is!" And just as quick as she shoots arrows, she turned into a happy schoolgirl.

"You mean it? Yaaaay! Well then, it's this waaaay!" She suddenly sprinted and was now ahead of me, our hands still linked.

"Hey, keep it down! You're acting like Honoka now!"

"Yaaay! Akane-san is going to visit me!"

I sighed yet again.

* * *

The door to the Sonoda household opened. As I had imagined, Umi's house had a dignified Japanese Style to it, much like the café we had just gone to.

"Excuse me," I started. "Is this the Sonoda household? I've come to send your daughter home." I could hear Umi happily mumbling as I spoke. I looked up to see who opened the door. It was a tall woman with hair much like Umi's, although hers was shorter.

"Umi...?" She mumbled.

I bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry, we went to a nearby café."

"Don't worry," the woman, who I assume to be her mother, replied. "I'm sure my daughter can explain in your stead."

"I see... well then, I'll be off now, goodbye Sonoda-san." I bowed again and let go of Umi's hand.

"Mooom! Where's Akane-san goiiiiing?"

"She's going home now, dear."

"Whaaat? No waaay!"

Just how many times have I sighed today?

* * *

I ended up coming home in the late evening. Good thing the snacks Umi and I had were enough to satisfy my hunger, I don't eat much anyway.

I opened my school bag and rummaged for my apartment keys. My hands stopped moving around as soon as I identified the metallic object. Taking it out, I closed my school bag and unlocked my apartment door.

I stepped inside my dimly lit (thanks to the moonlight) apartment, turning on the lights with the light switch next to the door frame. "I'm home."

Silence followed, save for the faint cricket sounds coming from the outside. What was I expecting, anyway? I live by myself.

I took off my shoes and went straight for my room. There, I took off my clothes and wrapped myself in a towel.

After Umi's ramblings and her dragging me around, I think I deserve a warm bath first thing after I arrive home. I entered the bathroom and turned the faucet on, letting the lukewarm water flow to the bathtub. After waiting for the bathtub to be almost fully filled with water, I took my towel off and plopped myself down in it.


End file.
